You Don't Believe In Ghosts?
by Zepphyra.Snow.Storm
Summary: Renji was never a superstitious guy, unlike a couple of his closer friends. Neither was Byakuya. That was, until they were thrown together in an old Edo-era compound. Secrets of their ancestors unfold, but Renji manages to keep most of his secrets to himself... Sequel will come eventually and will be rated M. This is too good for me to pass up. boyxboy, kissing, intense language.


_**I have to say I cranked this out in record time. It's my first oneshot since I first joined the site :) At first I thought it was gonna be a twoshot cuz it just kept getting so long and... well anyway. :P  
I paused another fic to get this one out by Halloween. It's an M-rated SasuNaru fic. I'll be getting back to that shortly. I have already begun drawing up plans for the second chapter (during AP US History no less).**_

**THIS IS RATED T. THERE IS SEXUAL CONTENT BUT NO MORE THAN MAKING OUT. THIS IS SLASH, AKA YAOI, AKA BOYXBOY. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU TAKE OFFENSE TO THIS OR TO HARSH LANGUAGE, OR TO SUGGESTION OR MENTION OF SEX.**

_**Enough of this. I shall post this while I still have power, before Hurricane Sandy seriously hits us...**_

_**Enjoy~~**_

_**~Xsnow~stormX~**_

* * *

"For the last time, there's no such thing as a ghost!"

"Oh, come on, Renji, you don't know that for sure!"

This had become a common conversation for Renji and his friends. He, Shuhei and Grimmjow were heading home from the Akihabara district**[1]**. The sun had long set, and the sky was now an inky black.

Grimmjow grinned like a Cheshire cat. "If you're so sure that ghosts don't exist, then why don't ya grow some balls 'n find out?"

Renji scoffed and crossed his arms. "Should I go on a fuckin' ghost hunt then?"

"You know Yanesen**[2]**?" Renji nodded. "There is one entire compound remaining there from the Edo period, but no one remembers who it belongs to since the family left it, or disbanded or something. It's supposed to be haunted."

"Hold on," Shuhei interrupted. "How do you even know this?"

"Heh, well," The blue haired man almost appeared sheepish. "Ulquiorra is seriously into history and gloomy things like that shitty haunted house, and even though I usually don't act like I'm listening to him, I am sometimes. He got all fuckin' excited when he told about it, too. Well, I mean, as excited as Ulquiorra can get."

_…Ulquiorra? Excited? Aw man, I gotta see that, _Renji thought disbelievingly.

"So anyway," Grimmjow continued, "since the professors don't care if people skip class, Shu will let you copy a week's worth of his notes!"

"Wh-what?" Shuhei sputtered, appearing to be thoroughly indignant.

Grimmjow simply smiled as though he had heard nothing. He clapped his hand on Renji's back saying, "See bro, we got you."

The redhead scowled. "Yeah... sure... So, when am I supposed to do this?"

Grimmjow seemed to think for a moment, but then Shuhei spoke. "Why don't you leave in two days? That will give you time to pack up everything you need, like food and clothes and stuff."

"Wow." Renji massaged his forehead with an expression of disbelief. "This is... really stupid. Nothing is going to happen…"

"But you don't know." Grimmjow returned, giving him a pointed look before breaking off from the group. "See you."

"Umm." Shuhei stopped. "Your apartment is further up…"

"Yeah… What the hell...? These are some really nice homes…" Renji also stopped, confused.

"Uh, well…" Grimmjow rubbed his neck awkwardly. "My… aunt lives over here… yeah… Bye!" He bolted in a flash of blue before more could be said.

The remaining two glanced skeptically at each other. Renji was the first to open his mouth.

"So, what do ya bet that it's Ulquiorra?"

"There is no bet. That's definitely the answer."

"He's way too obvious. He talks about him all the damn time... I'm getting a little sick of it..."

"But don't say anything like that! We gotta back him up and be happy for him 'n stuff!"

"Oh, I wouldn't try and tear him down. I mean, hell, he's fucking smiling as if he's actually happy. That's pretty cool, man, I mean, this is a first!"

They finished the journey in silence. Finally, Renji stopped at the door of his home, and Shuhei a couple houses down. They lived quite close to each other, and thusly, were childhood friends. Renji also suspected that Shuhei had some other deeper feelings for him, which honestly wouldn't have bothered the redhead so much except for the fact that he thought of his friend like a brother. He felt bad about being the cause of Shu's unrequited... whatever it was, but he'd rather not date someone he considered to be his closest friend.

Pausing before either of them opened their doors, they yelled their goodbyes to each other, beginning with Renji.

"G'night, stupid!"

"Yeah, I'm the one who's gonna be sleeping! Keep the lewd noises to a minimum, yeah?"

This had been a running joke between them ever since Renji's mom had called to him from another room, asking if he was watching porn again. It was just unfortunate that the sounds Renji's mother was hearing were his curses and grunts of frustration while he played the XBox... not to mention that he was also communicating with people over Live.**[3]**

Stepping inside his dark abode, Renji took out his hair tie and shook his fingers through his thick red mane. He sighed wearily, putting his book bag down and turning on the light.

"So stupid…" _I can't believe I'm going through with this..._

Flipping on the TV, Renji proceeded to take off his shirt and throw it on the floor in a haphazard manner. On his way into the kitchen he dialed up one of his friends. Holding the cell phone against his shoulder, Renji grabbed some Doritos and Mountain Dew.

_-"Hello?"-_

"Hey, Byakuya, it's me!"

_-"Oh, Renji."-_

Renji grinned. Byakuya almost sounded annoyed.

"Listen. You'll never believe what happened. Shuhei and Grimmjow are all superstitious and stuff, ya know?" Renji plopped down on his couch. He could practically hear Byakuya rolling his eyes as he loudly chomped on his chips. "So those two idiots are makin' me stake out a haunted house for a week!"

_-"You sound pretty excited about it to me."- _Honestly it didn't sound like Byakuya cared too much.

"Shut up!" Renji stuck his tongue out, even though he knew the raven haired man couldn't see it. "It'll at least be fun to look around the building. I'll get a real feel for the Edo Period!" He laughed. "I don't really wanna go, but you're being too stuffy. I'm sayin' it could be fun, man!"

Byakuya scoffed.

_-"Whatever. Do what you want."-_

Renji grinned wolfishly. "I always do."

* * *

Renji dropped his second bag, naturally filled with food, by the door, and returned to the living room.

"Are you seriously doing this?" A scowl graced Byakuya's normally flawless countenance.

"Yup! Don't see the harm in it."

"Of course he is!" Shuhei smiled, obviously pleased that Renji _was _seriously doing it. He threw an arm around Renji's shoulder. "He needs to have at least _some _respect for things that can't simply be explained away."

Byakuya's unpleasant aura grew murderous. Renji roughly shoved Shuhei off of him, laughing awkwardly.

"So… Who wants food?" Renji tried to release some of the tension in the air with the mention of food, but to no avail.

The entire evening, the redhead continued catching Byakuya with a rather grim expression, always directed at either himself or Shuhei. It honestly confused him because normally, Byakuya wouldn't have cared if Renji wanted to do something like this stupid little ghost expedition or not. He decided that later that night he would call Byakuya again and talk to him one-on-one. But unfortunately he wasn't sure how he felt calling the same guy two nights in a row. Actually, if it wasn't Byakuya he'd feel fine about it.

._.. So why is Byakuya any different?_

Renji shook his head, watching his two friends leave. He took his hair down and began taking his clothes off on his way to the bathroom. He'd call after a shower. He decided he had to think about some things first.

He'd always put Byakuya up higher, thinking that he was different, but not knowing exactly how, per say. Even now, there was some sort of block that prevented him from going into that territory. Did it scare him? Perhaps, though he couldn't say for sure. Renji wasn't like that one Uryuu kid. He wasn't stupid but deep thinking, though possible for him... it just wasn't his style. He simply let the water from the shower head flow down and around his body. It was such a relaxing sensation. Maybe his mind would be clearer in a moment and he would be able to think better then.

_I wonder what Byakuya looks like, taking a shower…_

He stopped himself right there.

_Am I gay or what?! _But then he seriously considered that thought. Not considering in the way "that one Uryuu kid" may have, but he considered by expanding his thoughts and feelings on Byakuya in the shower. Byakuya, eyes closed, with his raven hair blacker than coal flowing like water down his back and chest. Byakuya, small water droplets beading up on his arms and chest, rolling down his shoulder blades, dipping down the curve in the small of his back, and…

Renji shivered. _Maybe not gay… but…_ He licked his lips hungrily. He was already hard. And he wanted to… but… Byakuya was his friend, and he still had to talk to him. If he did _that_, Byakuya would most likely be asleep by the time he got out of the shower. So he finished washing himself up, in a cold shower now, and got out.

Slipping on some navy blue boxers, he grabbed his charging cell phone and called Byakuya up.

_-"Hello."-_

"Hey…" Renji was suddenly feeling quite awkward, about to broach a conversation on feelings and such…

_-"What?"-_He didn't sound pleased.

"Is there something going on between you and Shuhei? It seemed a bit… weird between you guys tonight."

_-"It's nothing. Forget it."-_

"Umm… Okay…" But Renji didn't really want to forget about it.

_-"What is Shuhei to you, exactly?"- _The question caught Renji off guard. He wished that he could see the other man's face so that he could tell what he was feeling.

"Umm…" Renji didn't really know how to answer the question.

_-"You know, he loves you a lot."-_

Renji's eyebrows rose in shock. So other people knew… _Well of course Byakuya knows, _he thought, _that guy is way too observant._

"Well… I know… But…"

_-"But?"-_

"I could never return his feelings… Next to Ichigo, he's probably my best friend. He's like a brother. We're childhood friends and I just… It isn't even that he's a guy. It would just be… really weird for me. You kinda get me? …Also…"

_-"…Also?"-_

Renji hesitated. He couldn't very well say what was on his mind… But he could try.

_"_Also… I already have someone I like… I think. I'm still not too sure though… since… it's a guy…"

Byakuya gasped, but Renji heard him try to stifle it.

_-"So… are you…"-_

"No!" Renji exclaimed hurriedly. "No, no! I mean… I don't think so… Because I've always been attracted to girls… It's just this one guy… Always, ever since I've known y—him…" _Shit, I'm gettin' too into this… _"Anyway, I think it's just the case of this one particular guy… Are you… ya know…?"

Byakuya was silent for quite a long time. Finally, when Renji thought he had fallen asleep or something, he replied in a shaky voice, quite uncharacteristic of him.

_-"Err… For the most part, yeah… Women annoy me, except for Rukia… so…"-_

Renji smiled a bit. "Don't worry, Byakuya. After what I've admitted to you, I won't judge you. I wouldn't judge you anyway even if I didn't feel the way I do about a certain guy… So, any particular guy you like? Just yes or no…" He had to know. But he might be more encouraged if he got a "no"…

_-"Umm… Maybe… Actually, it's getting pretty late. I will see you in a week. Goodbye."- __**Click.**_

Renji raised an eyebrow questioningly. _That was… odd._But he brushed it off as Byakuya being tired and getting impatient with Renji's poking around, and fell asleep.

* * *

Renji squinted up in the massive compound, all in shadow despite the early morning sun. He looked at the address, then at the compound again. _This has to be it…_

Slowly, he walked in through the gate and glanced around. Everything seemed to be covered in greenery, and foliage seemed to reach with long, spindly fingers toward the man encroaching upon their territory.

Renji tentatively opened the sliding door into the foyer, murmuring, "Please excuse the intrusion,"

Gently putting the bag of food down by the door, he kicked his shoes off and headed into the large, empty house looking for a place to sleep. He vaguely wondered if he should call for someone to bring him his roll-up futon, because, being Renji, he forgot.

He wandered upstairs, guessing that, if anything, there would probably be bedrooms there. He entered the room at the end of the hall, slowly sliding the door open. It was large, with two massive windows looking out at what Renji suspected had once been a garden. There was a dried up pond with a fountain, with a rotting old bridge running over it.

_But this place must have been very beautiful in its time…_

By just looking around, Renji could tell that this was the master bedroom. He wondered if he should be in there. Something felt off to him about it. So he left, and went into the room next door, which was equally as nice.

He said once again, more hesitantly this time, "Excuse the intrusion,"

The floor creaked heavily behind him as though someone had taken a step with him. Renji whipped around, but there was no one there. He took a shaky breath. _I'm more on edge than I thought! _He let out a short laugh._This is an old house, _he reassured himself, _so obviously it'd be a bit creaky…_

He decided this was the time to call someone to bring him a futon. He knew Grimmjow wouldn't do it, and he didn't want to bother Byakuya with it. So he decided to text Shuhei.

_-"Sure! I'll be right over!"-_

Renji looked around the bedroom. _I'm supposed to be _here_ for a week? After I've explored the entire compound, I'll be bored to death… _Squinting a bit, he peered through the dusty, yellowing windows into the continuation of the garden. The view from the master bedroom must have been nice, but Renji thought that he sort of might have preferred this one if he were to see it in its former glory. There was a dried up gully or creek that, Renji figured, must have ran from the pond. There was a flat stone walkway that went over it, like a narrow bridge. But vines crawled menacingly over it, threatening to drag it down. On the other side of that, the ground immediately began to gently slope upward, and the large, grey skeleton of a tree sat looming atop a small hill. Renji suddenly felt a huge rush of déjà vu for some reason, and he began to feel incredibly sad. _This place must have been so beautiful once…_

He was almost reluctant to leave the window, but he wanted to explore other areas of the compound as well. So he left the bedroom, and wandered down the hall, peering into room after room. Each of them looked the same… except one. He just couldn't seem to get the door open. He pulled on it as hard as he could but it just wouldn't budge. So without further ado he launched his body into the door and bashed it in.

Inside this room was what almost looked like a small shrine. Upon closer inspection, there was a painting of a woman with short black hair and no makeup; both qualities odd for the time period. She appeared to be wearing a delicate, pale pink kimono, with pale purple butterflies and white lotus flowers on it. Her obi was a darker pink. She was very pretty, but she looked sad. Suddenly there was a loud bang behind Renji, and even as he snapped around, he knew that the door had somehow repaired itself, and slammed back into place. The darkness in the room was so thick he almost expected to be able to reach out and grab it. There was a quiet hissing noise, and the entire room seemed to heave a weary sigh as warm yellow-orange danced across the walls.

The candle in front of the picture was flickering to life.

Renji hurriedly tried to stand, but in his urgency fell backward onto his bottom. He desperately tried to scoot away. He thought he saw the vague shape of a person in front of the candle… But Renji blinked and rubbed his eyes, and the image disappeared.

While Renji was catching his breath, he heard a soft pounding noise from downstairs.

_Oh yeah! I'm still waiting for Shuhei!_

He ran to open the door, but of course it didn't open from the inside either. So he had to knock it back down again.

Trotting downstairs, he called, "Shuhei, that you?"

"Yeah! I got your futon!"

"Awesome!" Renji opened the door and grabbed it.

"So…" Shuhei peered behind Renji. "Any activity yet?"

"Nope," the redhead lied. "nothing."

"Aw, that's too bad."

"Yeah, well, like I said: no such thing."

"That's what you think…" The brunette grumbled. "Can I come in and take a look around?"

"Ye_—_No! No, actually, there's a lotta... unsafe... stuff in here... Broken boards and shit... I think this place has termites and rats, too. So, no! Don't come in! One of the rats is huge! I bet it would attack you! But anyway, I'll see you in about a week!"

Renji attempted to shut the door, but Shuhei stopped him. "Wait wait! Giant rats?! Are you gonna be okay, man?"

"Yeah, of course, I'll be fine! I'm just, ya know, I'm just sayin', it might make 'em mad if there's more people in their territory 'n stuff."

"I see... Well good luck, and be careful!"

"Yeah." Renji closed the door and went back to his bedroom.

He almost felt bad for making Shuhei unnecessarily concerned about him... But he didn't want people interfering now that he really may have found something_—_not that he was expecting to or anything. But he wanted more evidence, and he wanted to concentrate on that rather than concentrate on entertaining Shuhei. Renji sighed, rubbing his forehead in something like confounded disbelief. _What have I become? A ghost hunter? What a laugh!... Yeah..._

* * *

It was the second day. So far, Renji had found all of the rooms in the main house. There was also the kitchen, the main room, and the courtyard, which his room and the master bedroom overlooked. He had heard a lot of weird noises, and what sometimes sounded like people talking. The sounds that seemed to Renji most like speech occasionally sounded like voices that were arguing. That was the most concerning because sometimes it would get loud, and he could hear banging on the walls.

That night, Renji awoke to the sound of someone crying. It was coming from the room the shrine was in. He got up to investigate. When he stood in front of the room containing the shrine, he paused, waiting, to see if anything would happen. After a moment, he clearly heard a woman's voice saying, "I'm sorry."

... Someone was at the end of the hall.

"Hey, wait!" Renji gave chase, still not knowing if he was dreaming, or, if not, if he could be heard by the one he called out to.

But the person slowed. Renji could see the outline very clearly. The person was transparent, but the colors and features were clear nevertheless. He seemed to be wearing traditional black hakama**[4]**, and a haori**[5]** over a plain white kimono**[6]**.He carried a sword at his side. When the specter turned around, Renji's jaw hit the floor. It looked almost exactly like an incredibly forlorn Byakuya who had been crying for a very long time. Only this one had some sort of formal hair ornaments.

It seemed as though this specter was staring right through him. Renji moved to the side, but, for fear the Byakuya look-alike would disappear, he did not take his eyes off of him.

Loud foot falls echoed down the corridor toward them. Then it was silent. Another smoky, transparent figure was drifting in front of the Byakuya look-alike. Retaining his despondent appearance, he was looking at this new specter. The new specter was dressed in only black hakama, but he too had a sword at his side. He also had a black hachimaki**[7]** tied around his head. Being shirtless, there were visible tattoos down his back, halfway down his arms, and even on his face. His expression was very somber and downcast.

What struck Renji was the bright red hair, like his own, put up in a spiky ponytail, like he always had it.

"Kuchiki-taichou…" the red-haired man's hushed voice filled the deafening silence like thunder. Renji wasn't a sappy guy. He didn't sit next to a tissue box while Rukia made him watch the Titanic over and over again with her. But the tone of this... _ghost's_ voice made him feel as though his heart were being torn to shreds.

Then they were both gone.

Maybe Renji wasn't the brightest, but he certainly wasn't stupid. He tore back to his room and speed dialed Byakuya.

_-"You imbecile, do you realize what time it is?"-_

"Yes, I know! I'm sorry!" He wasn't. "But dude, pack up your shit, you gotta come over here!"

**_Click._**

"Aww, come on!"

He redialed. No answer.

Renji growled in frustration. He settled for sending a text.

**_—_**_look i realize it's like 3am but u gotta come over. i know u think supernatural stuff is bs but some intense shits goin down up in here… i think u should c it… & rnt u from the kuchiki clan? that's the main reason i want u here...__**—**_

All he could do was wait. Or sleep. _Either way, he'll come. I know he will._

And sure enough, about 6am, there came a loud banging at the door. Renji had camped out in the foyer so that it would wake him up. He groggily dragged himself to the door, asking,

"Byakuya?"

He heard a loud, uncharacteristically inelegant snort from behind the door. So he opened it.

He was so beautiful, with all of his features enhanced by the little moonlight there was left. His pale, glowing skin was a lovely accent to his midnight hair, which was always somehow so damned perfect.

So it fits that Renji began blushing and gruffly muttered, "Nice bed head."

Byakuya glared dangerously. "You were a mistake."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Here," Renji held the door open for him.

He rolled up his futon and went upstairs to where the bedrooms were. They passed _that_ room on the way.

"So. Why am I here?" Byakuya was on edge. That much was obvious.

"Well…" There was no guarantee that he would believe Renji, but he could try to explain anyway. "I'll tell you, but we're gonna sleep after I explain, okay? You have to be tired, and I apologize for that." Byakuya simply rolled his eyes. "See, when I first came here, I just heard some weird noises… Then I started seeing things."

Byakuya dropped his things off in the master bedroom and came back into the hallway.

"Why didn't you take that bedroom?" He inquired. "It's bigger than the one you are in."

"It didn't feel… right." Renji looked around uneasily. _I sound so stupid…_ "Anyway, there's a room here with a picture of a lady that looks exactly like Rukia, only she's older. It's like a little shrine; there probably used to be flowers there. There is still a candle in front of the picture."

"Well let's go look." Byakuya's interest was obviously peaked.

"Later. We'll sleep first. Anyway, the door doesn't open; I have to knock it down every time. It'll just fix itself and close right back up again." Byakuya nodded. They sat down on Renji's futon and Renji continued. "So right before I called you, I got woken up by what sounded like some guy crying. It was comin' from that room, 'kay? Then there was this girl's voice from that room, apologizing to someone. That's when I actually saw two ghosts."

"What, seriously?" Byakuya was obviously doubtful.

"Yes, I'm serious! Believe me, I know what I saw. Anyway, it looked like a samurai. He looked exactly like you, and there were these… fancy hair thingys in his hair… and he wore this special looking haori. He looked important. But he looked so sad. Then there was someone else. He had red hair just like mine only he wore a black hachimaki, and there were all these tattoos all over his back and chest and down to his elbows and even on his face! He had a sword too so I think he was a samurai too. He looked pretty sad as well and called the guy that looked like you 'Kuchiki-taichou'. So I had to call you. It was all way too suspicious." Renji finished, and took in a deep breath. He wondered if Byakuya had gotten all of that; he had gotten a bit too excited and started speaking very quickly.

"Ah… I see…" He looked uneasy.

"Well, we should get some sleep. I'll show you the room and everything tomorrow—I mean today. Okay?"

"Uh… Yeah. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

About an hour later, Renji heard his door slide open. _Maybe if I don't move, they won't see me…_ He wanted so badly to just duck under his covers. But he was, as much as he hated to admit it, terrified. He couldn't move.

Whatever it was, was right next to him. After some rustling around, it was quiet.

Five minutes... then ten... then fifteen minutes went by without any noise, or disturbance of any kind. Slowly, Renji opened his eyes.

Next to him was a sleeping Byakuya.

* * *

After a breakfast of instant ramen, they decided to go into the room that Renji had told Byakuya of earlier that morning.

"So see," Renji tugged on the door. "it won't open the normal way, so ya gotta do this kind of thing." He threw himself into the door and when it broke open, an icy blast of air rushed into their faces. He pointed. "There it is. It looks like a shrine, yeah?"

Byakuya was positively entranced. Almost in slow motion, he walked to the picture and dropped to his knees. It seemed to Renji as though Byakuya was trying to retain enough of his self-control so that his mouth wouldn't fall open and start catching flies.

Suddenly, the door slammed behind them. Byakuya must have jumped about three feet.

"Aww, shit." Renji stalked moodily over to the door and forced it open. "Come on, let's get out of here."

They walked downstairs and into the courtyard garden. Renji was quiet, trying to give Byakuya time to process the information he had received just now, and last night as well.

In the garden, ivy and weeds dripped down the stone walls of. Everything was shrouded in green and brown. They headed over the narrow, stone walkway that led to the hill with the ghostly looking tree hulking over top of it. They sat underneath it, looking toward the dried pond. It had been completely overtaken with foliage.

"This just seems… too familiar—especially this spot."

Renji nodded, wordlessly encouraging Byakuya to continue.

"There was… someone…" Byakuya hesitated.

"Yeah?" Renji prompted gently.

"Well… A long, long time ago, in the time of the samurai… Oh, this is foolish!" Byakuya stood abruptly and turned away.

"No, it isn't. Say what's on your mind. If it doesn't make sense with the experiences I've had here, I'll tell ya so." Renji gave a gentle tug on Byakuya's hand, and he sat back down.

"Well… our clan has an old story... Back in that time period, there was a samurai named Kuchiki Byakuya—"

"Were you named after him or something?" Renji interrupted.

"Yes, yes I was." One of Byakuya's eyebrows twitched irritably. "Anyway, there was this samurai, Kuchiki Byakuya, who loved a woman named Hisana very, very much. But even though they got married and everything, she never loved him back. He never touched her because she was always so sickly, but loving her as much as he did, he wouldn't have touched her even if she were as healthy as could be. He tried to make her as happy as he possibly could. Well, long story short, she died. The captain was so torn up inside. He swore to never love anyone else for as long as he lived. He would have spent the rest of his life in mourning if it weren't for his lieutenant, Abarai Renji."

"What? Seriously? That's my name!"

Byakuya closed his eyes, sighing in annoyance. "Well, anyway, the lieutenant was wonderful, according to the story. Although he was rough and was raised on the street, he carried out orders perfectly and it was said that no one was more devoted to Kuchiki than him. Apparently, if Kuchiki ever decided to go rogue and leave behind all of his duties, Abarai would follow. It was said he loved his captain more than his own life. But Kuchiki never noticed. Abarai committed oibara**[8]** after Kuchiki died in battle. Kuchiki died amidst his own tragedy, so the story goes."

They sat there for a while after that in silence. It was strange, so strange, because the sound of steel clashing against steel was all around them, and there they were, acting like it was all so perfectly normal.

Finally, Renji spoke.

"It all makes so much sense now." His voice carried all the things that he couldn't quite manage to relate with words. "This is exactly like the story my grandma used to tell me when I was little." _I had totally forgotten about it until now, too._

"Really? It would make sense I suppose, with who our ancestors are…"

"Well, that and what I saw… That Hisana looks just like Rukia. And you said one time that you'd always have special feelings, although maybe not romantic ones, for her. And I think I'm gonna get some tattoos. They're cool." _It also explains why I've always been so damn attached to you, _he thought ruefully. _Hopefully the old man will be able to give me advice on which tattoos to get... It's a pretty big deal._ _I'll have to ask him if the traditional method hurts..._

Byakuya laughed softly, and Renji jerked his head over to look at him. He'd _never_ heard him laugh before, ever.

"What is it?"

Before he could stop himself, he had done it. He felt Byakuya's soft lips under his own, (_Is he responding at all? I can't tell…_) and he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes for fear of the other man's expression.

Byakuya gently pushed the redhead off of him. "Renji…"

"I'm sorry!" He pressed his forehead into his hand. "I shouldn't have—damn it! I'm sorry!" As he hurried back into the compound, he didn't see Byakuya, in his own confusion, reaching for him.

* * *

Renji's phone battery was almost dead. But that was okay. He really had to speak to his grandmother.

"Everything you used to tell me… Those stories when I was little… Our family, the Gotei 13… those clans of nobles, and about the Kuchiki clan especially… It's all true..." he was talking so fast he was afraid his grandmother wouldn't understand.

But she apparently did. She was laughing. Beginning to panic, he quickly asked, "Baachan**[9]**, do you believe me?"

_-"Of course I do, you stupid boy!"- _she cackled. _–"I knew all along it was true!"-_

"Huh…?"

_-"I was simply relating to you the history of our family with those stories. It's not a grand one. We come from peasantry. But your ancestor, Abarai Renji, was a grand samurai, and owed all of that to Kuchiki-taichou. Our family will never forget it. Now, more to the point, do you know the descendent of Kuchiki-taichou?"-_

"Yes…" Renji hesitated. "I... Baa-chan... I tell you things _all_ the time that you don't tell ojiisan**[10]**... So would you also keep this a secret from him?"

_-"I will, as long as it does not violate the terms I set with you."-_

_The terms... _Renji took a deep, stabilizing breath. "... I... My friend, Kuchiki Byakuya... I am in love with him."

_-"Ah!"- _his grandmother exclaimed. _–"History repeats itself."-_

"Baachan…"

_-"What is it? Spit it out, boy."-_

"Do you think that… Do you think that my oyaji**[11]** would hate it if I decided to get a bunch of tattoos, I mean ones that looked like Abarai Renji's?"

His grandmother gave another gay chuckle and said, _-"It's a secret, but the tradition was not broken with my chichi__**[12]**__ like everyone thinks. My husband, your ojiisan__, has tattoos all over his back. So does your ojisan__**[13]**__. All of your past ancestors were swordsman as well, simply because that blood in them was too strong to ignore. Besides, as a_ family, _we have _that _tradition as well. You know, how Grimmjow has those _important _tattoos._"-

"Hmm… Yeah, yeah I know about all that stuff, baa-chan…" _Senile old lady... Dodging the question...__ "_But that's not what I was asking."

_-"Oh, I think that your ojisan would be angry if you didn't think through the importance of those designs pertaining to yourself, certainly."_-

"Oh, okay."

_-"Would you like to talk to your ojiisan?"- Renji's grandmother asked._

"Uh, no, actually, I have to go. My cell phone's battery is gonna die any second now. I was kind of saving some for an emergency. So… yeah."

_-"Okay. Well come and see us when you get the chance. And bring that black haired beauty with you, ne?"-_

Renji was stunned. "How—How did you know—?"

Someone knocked at Renji's door.

_-"Stupid boy, they all have black hair! And the loveliest eyes, as well!"- _she cackled. _–"Goodbye!"- __**Click.**_

The knock came again, more insistent this time.

"Come in!"

The door to Renji's room slid open.

"It was getting late, and you hadn't come out of your room, so…"

"I'd have thought you'd have left." Renji answered almost irritably without turning to face his visitor.

"No… I mean… I have to know what you meant… by doing what you did earlier…" Byakuya was struggling to maintain a calm, cold demeanor, and it showed.

Renji turned to face him and sat, casually leaning back and supporting himself on straightened arms. When he gestured to the floor in front of him, Byakuya slowly came over and sat on his knees, with his hands stiffly placed in his lap. Renji looked away, feeling awkward. _So formal… Even his personality makes sense now after all of this! A damn noble, every inch of him!_

"I just finished talking to my sobo**[14]**…" Renji began self-consciously.

"I heard…" Byakuya coughed delicately. "Of course, I hadn't the intention of eavesdropping. But you already know I was at the door and so—"

"Oh, I know. It's cool." Renji waved it off. He was trying to think of what to tell Byakuya. But he didn't know. "Umm…" he began. "I… Byakuya, I—"

"How do you feel about me?" The tone of the man's voice forced Renji to look at him. Said man was staring at the floor with a light dusting of pink coating his cheeks and nose.

"I love you!" The red head blurted, the words tumbling out suddenly and shocking the both of them. Renji quickly covered his mouth. "I mean—That is, I meant to say—"

"Really? Because I have to know that you weren't simply messing with my emotions or experimenting back there."

"No…" Renji shook his head, "I wasn't…"

"Hmph. You're as ungraceful as ever." Byakuya muttered. But even as he glared at Renji with those fierce dark eyes, that lovely shade of pink still adorned his cheeks.

Renji shyly grasped his raven's hands and tried to pull him closer. Byakuya inelegantly scooted on his knees to him, and Renji, being the impatient person he is, finally just tugged the rather indignant man into his lap. Byakuya wouldn't quite look at him. It was almost like he was sulking or something.

"Hey," Renji gently cupped Byakuya's cheek. "What is it?"

Byakuya muttered something, but Renji couldn't make it out.

"Come on, speak up. I can't hear you if you're being like that."

"I said, you should have kissed me sooner, you raging imbecile! Then you might not have had Shuhei constantly hanging all over you! You have to realize I am not the only one who knows—"

Renji stopped listening. This was obviously one of Byakuya's more harmless temper tantrums.

"Speaking of relationships," Renji probably interrupted Byakuya mid-rant, but it's not like he'd never done that before. "You know Grimmjow?"

Byakuya's countenance darkened visibly. "Oh, that sewer rat?"

Renji winced, trying not to take the _sewer rat_ comment personally. "Hey… Besides the fact that I am a descendent of so-called 'sewer rats'… watch what you say about my friends–especially now."

Byakuya looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Renji grinned. He was gonna love this. "You'll never guess who he's dating."

Byakuya rolled his eyes. "Do you really, honestly, in your heart of hearts, think that I give one single fuck, Renji?"

"Yep. He's a good friend of yours, actually."

Byakuya pondered in silence for a moment before flatly stating, "None of my friends would date that jackass."

Renji gave a hearty laugh. "Think again! Apparently, Ulquiorra doesn't feel like that."

For a split second, Byakuya looked scandalized, but he immediately regained his composure. "I… see…"

"I haven't seen them together, but Grimm seems pretty hung up on that guy, which if you think about it, it's really out of character for him to be hung up on anything. Don't worry about Ulquiorra, 'kay? I know you and bleu cheese head hate each other, but he's a great guy."

Byakuya nodded reluctantly.

"But what he sees in Ulquiorra, I'll never know." Renji wrapped his arms tighter around Byakuya. "All I know is that I don't want anyone else to even look at you. And I've always felt like that. Isn't that weird?"

"Very." But it was apparently okay, because Byakuya rested his head on Renji's shoulder.

Renji simply held Byakuya for a while in silence. All the while, though, a struggle waged within his mind. _I should probably tell him soon… But I don't want to, especially not right now… I should probably wait until we get back to our normal lives—whatever the fuck _normal_ is… I wonder how Grimm's dealing with this shit…_

He was pulled out of his reverie by shy, hesitant hands tugging on the front of his shirt. Renji glanced down at Byakuya, only to be met with a gentle but firm and warm kiss.

"Bya—"

"Shut up." Byakuya's dark eyes burned through Renji like hot coals, and the raven kissed Renji more heatedly.

He laughed softly. "Yes, sir."

It's just that for once, the wild, street-smart redhead wanted to be careful. He didn't want to make a mistake, or overstep any boundaries.

For once, Renji felt like he had something to lose.

He heard the ever stoic Byakuya moan softly as Renji delved deeper into his warm mouth. His hands became more daring, and slowly began to inch up his partner's back, memorizing the feeling of taut muscle beneath cotton. Kissing the soft, pale skin of his neck, Renji gently pushed Byakuya off of him and onto the futon. The look Byakuya gave the redhead was not one of wanton lust or one weakened by ecstasy. It was fierce, and full of a growing hunger. They had been going slow so far, and Renji was suddenly worried.

"Byakuya… How far did you want to go tonight?" he asked uncertainly, brushing his lips along the curve of the raven's soft, pale neck.

"How far can we go?" Byakuya muttered huskily, grabbing Renji's face in his hands and kissing him hotly.

Renji gasped with the effort of escaping. It was pretty hard not to think about the fact that there was this amazingly beautiful, sexy man (whom he happened to be in love with) lying underneath him and practically commanding Renji to _fuck him_.

"Look..." Renji gently kissed his rather dazedly confused Byakuya on the forehead before continuing. "I want you… very badly… But… I can't. Not yet at least."

"Why?" His expression was close to unreadable now.

"Because… I have some things that I need to tell you… before we get more serious… There are things that you need to know about me." Renji lay down beside Byakuya on the futon.

"Hmph. I don't see what that has to do with sex." Byakuya moodily turned over.

"You're so intelligent, but you can be so dense sometimes." Renji wrapped his arms around Byakuya and pulled him closer. "I wanna tell you, and then give you a chance to back out of the relationship. But first, I guess I just wanna enjoy our time here alone and stuff."

Byakuya didn't reply.

"Are you offended that I'm not going to do anything dirty with you?" Renji grinned mischievously.

Byakuya proceeded to kick him, but Renji only tightened his grip. He buried his face into Byakuya's lush, black hair and sighed deeply. "So how come you always smell like sakura, huh?"

Byakuya shrugged. Just as Renji was starting to drift off, the raven haired man snuggled his lithe body closer into Renji's chest. The redhead smiled, rather amused.

"Guess you're not that offended, huh?" He yawned, and was about to head for sleep again when he remembered something. It was of little consequence really, considering they weren't kids anymore, but it was surprising that he had totally forgotten. "Hey," Renji whispered into his new boyfriend's ear. "Happy Halloween."

"Will you _please_ go to sleep, you idiot."

...

...

...

"Byakuya, what would you think if I got a bunch of tattoos? Like, black tribal style ones."

**WHACK**. "GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP."

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) Akihabara District -****_ a distrct in Tokyo; also Akiba, after former local shrine; famous for many electronics shops; center of otaku culture_**

**2) Yanesen - ****_a district in Tokyo; many historical structures in the Edo-period style; known for antiquated style and temple-district style_**

**3) An inside joke with some friends; someone was playing video games (hence, sound) and was talking, making grunts of frustration, cussing etc. when came "$&%$ #! Are you watching porn again?" Magical. XD**

**4) Hakama - ****_traditional type f Japanese pant, originally worn only by men; tied at the waist_**

**_5) _****Kimono - ****_men's kimonos are simpler than women's; kimono literally means "thing to wear", ki meaning wear and mono meaning thing; the sleeves are not as wide_**

**6) Haori - ****_A silk jacket worn over a kimono which protects it_**

**7) Hachimaki - ****_A headband originally worn as charm against evil spirits; now worn to express one's determination in mental or physical exertion_**

**8) Oibara - ****_A form of Harakiri/Seppuku: Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment; traditionally only done by samurai, after Bushido code - dying w/ honor_**

**9) Baachan - ****_Informal, endearing term to call your grandma, like "Granny" or some shit_**

**__****10) Ojiisan - Polite form of "grandpa", aka "grandfather"; used when referring to someone else's grandfather**

**11) Oyaji - ****_dad in this case, but referring to the "old man", aka "I'll have to ask my old man."_**

**12) Chichi - ****_Used when speaking about one's own father_**

**13) Ojisan - most common form of "uncle"**

**14) Sobo - The "humble" way of referring to your own grandmother**

* * *

**(15/4/13) I edited this again! Yay! So I hope you enjoyed this! I will take any reviews you give but if it's rude or contains flame I WILL delete it. I really appreciate reviews, and because this is a oneshot I will PM you in response to your review. The name of the sequel to the is "Rules of the Game", but that is M rated. Look for that on my profile. I'm actually gonna put up chapter 3 soon-ish. There is another oneshot that is in connection with "Rules of the Game", but it focuses on the side pairing GinRan. It's not necessary you read it, but personally I think it'd make things more interesting. ;) Thank you all!**

**I update my profile regularly with what I'm working on, so make sure to check that out every few days! :D**


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